Everyday Celebrating

This week: on my desk

Besides my super cute son, who is a permanent fixture, this week I have a dozen red roses in an oversized mint julep cup. 

That mint julep cup came from Goodwill.  It was filled with a HIDEOUS silk arrangement that you can thank me for NOT sharing here.  LOL   Took me a while to dig out the large amount of styrofoam that was glued into it, but the results are simple and very Tiffany & Co.

Sidenote:  I placed a plastic cup inside for the water as this vessel wasn't meant for live flowers or anything liquid obviously.

Just another reminder to see past the obvious at Goodwill.  Transform!

Egg cups for arrangements

I was excited to see this on Martha's website. 

Post-Easter last year, I wiped my local Target out of egg cups.  They were on clearance for something crazy like 90% off and they were so cute I couldn't pass them up.  This photo reminded me that I have them and I need to break them out soon for cute mini arrangements!

Sidenote: wouldn't these make cute favors for a shower?  Everyone leaves with a pretty mini flower arrangement?

Random Acts of Kindness style birthday!

I have something very special to share with you.  In the past, I've shared all types of ways to celebrate occasions.  Anniversaries, weddings, births and birthdays.  But this birthday is a celebration in kindness.  A celebration of selflessness.   And really, one of the neatest things I've ever seen.

Meet my friend, Robyn.  Robyn is the owner and brilliant planner behind Mix Mingle and Glow - a full service wedding and event planning company in the Destin, Florida area.  

Robyn recently celebrated her 38th birthday.  Her one birthday wish was to spend her birthday completing one random act of kindness for every year of her life.  38!

While Robyn planned out 38 ways to provide kindness to strangers, she really hoped for opportunities to present themselves throughout the day.  And they did!    She spent the day with her children, her husband and in-laws spreading kindness in her town.

A few of the fabulous ways they spread the love....

Feeding parking meters

Took art supplies to the waiting room in Labor and Delivery of the local hospital to entertain new big brothers and sisters to be.  And stuffed animals to the children's floor.

  

In the picture at the top, Robyn walked into a restaurant, handed a family a gift card and walked out.

And the list goes on..... such an amazing idea and what an example to set for your children!

I encourage you to visit Robyn's blog and read the full list of random acts her family spread in celebration of, as Robyn says, "the most favorite birthday of my life!"

P.S.  Add Robyn's blog to the list of those you follow.  She has amazing event ideas and inspiration.  Check out the first post and her Mad Scientist party!

Springy wreath tutorial

 

An easy spring wreath tutorial from Avis at Avie Designs.  Made with basically just paper, cardboard, a leaf punch and ribbon, this is something you can crank out easily and have your door ready for spring in no time.  Or, you can make specialized wreaths for events like showers or weddings, etc.  

Also, have you checked out the stationary at Avie Designs?  Way back when, she was one of my first purchases on etsy.  Her designs are fresh and modern and the quality is phenomenal.  If you're looking to give stationary as a gift, I highly recommend her products.  You won't be disappointed.

What's on my desk this week...

 

As an event planner, there can sometimes be some funny things on my desk.  

Big jugs of leftover vodka - check.  

BIG homecoming corsages - check.  

Hot glue gun.. xacto knife.. paper cutter - check check check

Stacks of yearbooks we're pouring over for reunion photos - check.

Several half full drinks - check.   (Ask my co-workers, I'm awful about that one.)

But sometimes you find something cute on my desk. I love flowers and I love just picking up a bunch to display on my desk for the week.  Places like Kroger and Walmart cut great deals on flowers while they still have a lot of beauty left to give.

The arrangement above is what currently brightens my day.  Flowers are from Kroger.  Huge bouquet of tulips (my fave) for $12!    They also had a dozen PERFECT roses on clearance for $6!  Lots of them in a variety of colors.

Used as a vase - a pair of children's rain boots.  I had been looking around for rain boots for my son.  He loves to splash in puddles and on the cooler spring days, he really needed some rain boots.  Anyway... I found some for him and I found these smaller ones (above) at Goodwill for $2.  (These are a toddler size 5, in case you're wondering the ratio of how big the boots should be to hold a bouquet.)

If you look closely at the photo, you'll notice that I've wedged 2 plastic cups into the boots.  These are small, disposable cups.  Probably holds 6-8 ozs of water each.  They fit perfectly into the boots and were a great size to hold the flowers/water.

Anticipate spring by adding a bit of fresh flowers into your work space - and don't forget to think outside the box when looking for floral containers.

Inexpensive summertime dishes

So most of us are still battling winter and most of us are over it.  LOL  We're moving on to thoughts of warmer weather, sunshine and bright colors.

Speaking of bright colors, how about those dishes?  Are you a fan of Fiestaware but need a cheaper alternative?  Or do you already have Fiestaware and you're looking for some accent pieces to give some punch?  Are you a dish junkie who has several sets {blush} and just want something new and friendly for summer that isn't going to break the bank and you won't feel badly if one breaks?

Enter Dollar Tree!

These are the summer dishes coming out at the Dollar Tree.  $24 for SET!  FOUR SETTINGS!  Of, you guessed it, 24 pieces.

Wouldn't these make a great gift?  Bridal shower or birthday... even if you got the set and put it back for next Christmas, even.

Go to the Dollar Tree site, enter your zip code to find ones near you or order online.

Easy, simple way to recycle Valentine's Day roses

By now, that beautiful rose arrangement you received from your sweetie for Valentine's Day, may have a couple of roses looking worse for wear.  Let's face it, they aren't going to last forever, but you want to savor all the time you have with each flower, none the less.

When you get down to having 2 or 3 good roses left, it's time to re-arrange the arrangement into something you can still enjoy.

My friend Amy from ABCD Designs is a fabulous artist, designer and stylist in NYC.   She makes breathtaking stationary and invitations on top of many other amazing creations, including the arrangement above.

This is so easy, you'll be stopping on the side of the road to pick a single flower for many future arrangements.

Get one large fish bowl globe.  Walmart, Target, Michaels all have them.

Also, Amy recommends polished stones.  Also available at Michaels, Target, etc.  Polished are preferred but not crucial.  Any interesting filler stone that attracts you will be fine.

You'll need bear grass.  Fresh bear grass can be purchased at a local florist by the bunch.  You won't need but a few pieces of it.   If you can't find fresh, there is some available at craft and floral stores that look very real.

Put the stones on the bottom, swirl the bear grass in the bowl (anchoring the grass under rocks, if need be) and fill the bowl to the middle of the bear grass with water.

Leave a very short stem on the rose and lay it on top.  Make sure the end of the stem is in the water.

An interesting arrangement to enjoy the last of your Valentine's Day gift!

 

Happy Valentine's Day: Heart shaped felt treat bags

Happy Valentine's Weekend!
Above are a couple of the treats I made for my son and his daycare buddies.   

Heart shaped felt treat bags!   Each "bag" included a small toy.  Boys received small wooden cars (found at the Target Dollar Spot) and girls received mini mermaid dolls (found at the Dollar Tree).  You can see her pink hair peeking out of the bag above.  LOL

Very easy to make:

Cut pieces of felt into heart shapes.  You'll need 2 hearts per bag.

Hot glue the hearts together, but leave the top open and unglued to fill with treats.

I glued on white foam hearts onto the outside along with initials of each child's name.
(The initials are letter magnets found at the Dollar Tree.)

Then cut a slit into each heart at opposite ends.    Thread the ribbon through and tie a knot on each end forming a handle for the treat bag.

Fill with treats!

 

Say it in stencil

I've always loved the idea of coffee stencils.  But they are hard to find and even then, there weren't many options available.  Not you have 33 to choose from at CoffeeStencil.com

SmileBooks discount for EC readers... ALL YEAR!

While I'm spending time at the Blissdom conference this weekend, I wanted to leave you with a wonderful discount from my sponsor, SmileBooks.

 

The great folks at SmileBooks were one of my sponsors for the BlogHer conference last July and are sponsoring me for Blissdom as well. They printed some amazing booklets for both conferences that feature party ideas from this blog.  The quality is phenomenal!

Have you wanted to make a nice coffee table style book?  Maybe featuring a vacation or holiday, maybe a birthday party or special anniversary, etc?   Smilebooks produces the highest quality of glossy, beautiful photo books.  

It is so easy to create a book, just upload your photos!  You can create your own layouts or have them designed for you.   

SmileBooks is offering a 30% discount to readers of Everyday Celebrating in celebration of the Blissdom conference, blogs and those that read them.  Just use coupon code CELEBRATE30 during checkout to receive the discount.  

There are so many occasions to celebrate with a book... Mother's Day, Graduation, Celebrate a high school band season or sport, etc.  These make a fabulous gift!  And... this code is good for all of 2010. With an expiration date of 12/31/2010, you can get discounted books for every occasion... all year!